Be.... Visible

Rusty_Noob said:
As a teenager I never saw the point of lights on my push bike, I could cycle around without hitting anything, so what was the point?

When I started driving a car however I realised how stupid and naive I was to believe that I didn't need lights on my push bike and then realised the lights aren't for the cyclist, they're for other motorists on the roads to see you, not for you to see.

I've just started cycling again and have some decent Cateye lights which cost about £60 and I wouldn't dream of cycling without them in the dark.
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/doffs hat.

I have the same attitude towards my car's lights when the light's not particularly brilliant.
I'd rather be seen as early as possible to prevent some nob overtaking because they didn't see me coming the other way.

People who have no lights on or only sidelights in Fog are just retarded.
 
bitslice said:
Finally I'm seeing bikes with decent LED lights, although actually they are a bit too bright when pointed right at you. I just wish they would wear something yellow so I could tell the difference between a cyclist and a distant car.
Add in last nights rain and you've really got to stand out to be noticed.
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I wear reflective stuff, but I think the best option is one rear constant light, and one flashing.
 
I take my visibility quite seriously. I have a bright flashing red light on my backpack and the same under my seat and a decent front light on constant beam (though I'm thinking about getting a brighter one), plus one of those thunderbird style high visibility straps that run diagonally accross your body.

A handy tool around here is that if you're not visible enough, taxi drivers tend to let you know either by beeping or a friendly warning. When i get a message like that, I make a note to upgrade my visibility.

At the end of the day, I'd much rather look like a tool than be wrapped round the wheel of a car. And I never want to hear the excuse "Sorry, I didn't see you".

That all said, the argument goes both ways: Cyclists should be visible and motorists should be looking for cyclists. A lot of people simply don't consider the possibility of cyclists being around them when they pull out of a junction or take that left turn for example. Cyclists are now a fact of life rather than an uncommon annoyance.

edit: As for the helmet thing - there is really no excuse to ride without one. I know its illegal in Australia to ride a bike without a helmet and I think the same should be enforced here. I left my helmet in the office the other night by accident leaving me to cycle home without one and I felt incredibly vulnerable.

I also can't ride with earphones in.. I need to hear every little noise around me and gear changes etc. A car can be extremely quiet coming up behind you and if they overtake without you expecting it, it can give you quite a fright which is dangerous in itself.
 
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Sp00n said:
Good advice, also cyclists; red means STOP.
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This!

So many times i have seen cyclists just go through red lights and almost cause accidents. Probably the same ones that say " oh my god a car nearly ran in to me , why don't stupid motorists look out for us!!"...because the lights are green for me so i therefore do not expect to be stopping again and looking out for cyclists. Might as well make everything a give way junction if cyclists do this.
 
Having actually being knocked down in my lifetime (and I was wearing a dark t-shirt) this is sound advice.

Though, I was in Singapore and it was generally lit up like a christmas tree all hours of the day....
 
I was riding home on my motorbike on Monday night (first night of darkness at ~5:10pm). I wear a high vis vest over my biking gear for extra visibility when it's dark.

I saw a woman peddling a bike on the opposite side of the road (adult 40-50 years old) with NO LIGHTS on and NO Reflective gear at all. She had also stopped in the middle of her road and was holding out her arm to turn right across my right of way. I barely saw the stupid bint. She was indeed super difficult to see and I remember thinking to myself is it worth stopping to tell her how much of an idiot she is...

So yeah, nice post Jono. Be seen blud, seen?
 
I'd say about 90% of the cyclists in my town have no high-vis gear or lights whatsoever. In fact most don't wear helmets, jump red lights and have the road awareness of a hedgehog . A lot of men (25-60) riding full-suspension mountain bikes from Tesco commuting with their dark clothing on, nutters the lot of them.

I'm proud to say that my bike is lit up like a Christmas tree :). 2 front lights, 2 rear, 60+ spoke reflectors, bright orange jacket and backpack with reflective strips. Do I look like a berk? Probably, but then again who chooses cycling for its fashion sense?

Although earlier this week I did see a young lady out running with a high-vis jacket on, was quite a refreshing change :).
 
weirdly most of the London commuters are very good at having lights and usually a high viz jacket or one of those "hump" rucksack covers. Maybe its just ones dressed as ninjas don't last very long on the mean streets ;)
 
I saw a cyclist a week ago hurtling down a busy b-road at 9pm with no high-vis gear on, and no lights at all. Saw him again the following day, again he was hard to spot.

He'll be road pâté if he keeps it up.
 
Well said.

Often have youths with no relflectors dressed in dark clothes snaking down the road on their bikes. You can see a car way before it see's you so get out of the road!

I'm more concerned with damage to my car than the lives of people stupid enough not to take the necesary precautions for their own safety.
 
BennyC said:
I'm more concerned with damage to my car than the lives of people stupid enough not to take the necesary precautions for their own safety.
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Really? If you knocked someone off their bike and killed someone you'd be more concerned about the damage to your car?
 
Siliconslave said:
weirdly most of the London commuters are very good at having lights and usually a high viz jacket or one of those "hump" rucksack covers. Maybe its just ones dressed as ninjas don't last very long on the mean streets ;)
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ye a lot of them do.. but a lot of them don't ;) i do ride from islington to tottenham and normally there's a group of cyclist riding 5-10 and at least 3 of them will have lights on VERY low battery hardly visible for me when i get close to them.. i won't talk about cars :)
 
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